He fined the coach $500,000 and the team $250,000 and stripped them of a first-round draft pick as punishment for illegally recording signals of opposing coaches.

As part of the penalty, Goodell told Belichick he wanted him to apologize publicly. The coach then issued a statement about his regret and declined to answer questions when asked in a public forum.

"I was given assurances that (Belichick) would tell his side of the story," Goodell told SI. "He went out and stonewalled the press. I feel like I was deceived."

Belichick gave a response to SI. He said, "I did not make any assurances about thoroughly discussing the subject publicly. I said I would address it following the league's review. I then did that in a way I thought was appropriate. I don't think that was deceptive."

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About Nate Davis

Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate